Details
Founded: 1608-1616Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Reformation & Wars of Religion (Germany)
User Reviews
Schloss Holte is a baroque water castle from the 17th century located in the East Westphalian town of Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock. It is the successor to a water castle from the 14th century, which was destroyed by fire in 1556. Rebuilt as a hunting lodge from 1608 to 1616, incorporating existing building remnants, by Count Johann III. of East Frisia and his wife Sabina Catharina von Rietberg, it passed through marriage at the end of the 17th century to the Kaunitz family.
In 1822, Friedrich Ludwig Tenge acquired the neglected property and converted it into a residence for his son-in-law. Simultaneously, the entrepreneur built an ironworks south of the castle. The estate is still privately owned by the Tenge-Rietberg family, who have established rental apartments in the castle. The buildings and the park are not open to the public.
Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.
German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.
After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.